1. Field of the Invention
An athletic bra with an exoskeleton support structure including an adjustable compression strap and molded cups to both encapsulate and compress the breasts to maximize support, comfort and motion control during athletic activities.
2. Background of the Invention.
Women participating in athletic activities have long needed appropriate athletic bras to protect delicate breast tissue from damage and stretching due to inadequate support, excessive motion and bounce while at the same time providing comfort during all activities. There is also a need to compress and encapsulate the breasts to inhibit the bouncing motion inherent in running or jumping activities. Encapsulation provides support and breast separation. Compression of the breasts may also be preferred to prevent the breasts from impeding or interfering with certain movements, such as a golf swing.
In addition to these functional attributes, an athletic bra must also meet the subjective criteria of fit and comfort. Even though women come in all shapes and sizes, and even differing shapes in the same size, some typical athletic bras provide no adjustment at all and are offered only with Small, Medium, Large sizing. Other athletic bras which are sized by rib and cup sizes, only mirror the sizing and fit offered in regular bras and offer only the chest circumference adjustment and shoulder strap adjustments as regular bras.
Some typical athletic bras offer some amount of support to female athletes by providing as much compression as possible in the hopes that bringing the breasts as close to the body as possible will minimize bounce. These bras may accomplish maximum compression, but do not address encapsulation for comfort or aesthetics at all. Many of the Small, Medium or Large compression bras which generally have no adjustments are little more than tank tops made of elastic material sized to compress the breasts of the wearer. In general, typical athletic bras err on the side of comfort thereby sacrificing motion control and support. In addition, these tank-type bras leave a lot to be desired in aesthetics since they generally result in a single compressed mass across a woman's chest with no hint of supporting the breasts individually. A functional shortcoming of tank-type bras is that both breasts end up moving together which can mean more motion than necessary for some athletic activities. For many high intensity and/or high impact activities it is desired to provide motion control for each breast separately to avoid excessive bounce and unnecessary motion and transmission of motion between the breasts. Excessive bouncing can be painful and result in damaged and stretched breast tissue. Forcing both breasts to move together only compounds the problem by imparting motion to a larger mass.
A typical athletic bra of an appropriate size provides only one type of fit and support to the wearer. As a result, most women must possess a stable of different athletic bras depending on the activities in which they participate. Most light weight bras while comfortable are not likely to provide sufficient support, and those bras that provide sufficient support are likely to be heavy weight and uncomfortable.
One prior art bra called the “Shock Absorber” includes an inelastic band that is part of an H-shaped arch on the front extending from the outer side of one breast to the outer side of the other breast. The band appears to extend across the chest from one shoulder strap to the other above the breasts. The arch is not adjustable and is anchored at the sides of the rib band, at the straps and the tops of the cups. It is intended to provide some measure of motion control. However, the inelasticity of the band and lack of support, breast separation and adjustment do not address the fit and comfort criteria. Moreover, while the band may achieve a certain degree of motion control, there is no provision at all for individual encapsulation of the breasts.
Another shortcoming of some prior art bras concerns the materials used and the construction. Although cotton and cotton blends are comfortable materials when dry, they can become heavy and irritating when a wearer perspires during activities. In addition, the elasticity of these materials may be adversely affected by wetness. The prior art has addressed this material problem by using various polyester and other moisture control fabrics. The construction, however, has remained the same: either one uniform material throughout, or different materials and layers pieced together in a typical cut-and-sew construction. A single uniform material will not provide opportunities to customize areas of the bra for elasticity or inelasticity. In bras pieced from multiple pieces of fabric, the exposed sewn seams are often a source of chafing, skin irritation, itching and other discomforts to the wearer.